Issue 5, October 2007

VR100s Awarded to Students at Special Discounted Price

In our February issue of The VEMCO Monitor, we announced a program offering a special discount on our VR100 receiver to graduate students. The selection committee has awarded five receivers to date (with a sixth pending) and the recipients are:

Chris Walsh
Chris is a full-time PhD candidate at the School of Biological Sciences, Wollongong University, Australia. His thesis is about the use of automated acoustic telemetry to monitor the spawning migration, localised movement and habitat requirements of two recreationally important percicthyidae fishes in the Shoalhaven River below Tallowa Dam. This study will be of direct benefit to conservation and recreational fishery managers by providing advice on the sustainable management of these two species and their habitats.

Carlos Mireles
Carlos is in his second semester at California State University, Long Beach, where he is pursuing a Masters of Science Degree in Biology. His research interests are in the behavioral ecology of gamefishes utilizing conventional and acoustic tagging methodologies. Carlos is conducting his thesis on the site fidelity and depth preferences of gamefishes inhabiting southern Calfornia petroleum platforms.

Alison Kock
A PhD candidate in Marine Biology at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, Alison is gathering vital information on white sharks (listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species) including occurrence, residency patterns, site-fidelity, identification of critical habitats and habitat utilisation. This information is crucial when trying to ensure that current protection and management measures are adequate. As a result, a telemetry study was initiated in May 2004 in False Bay, South Africa. VEMCO VR2 acoustic listening stations (35) have been deployed on the seafloor around False Bay, and 75 white sharks of both sexes, ranging in size from 200 - 500 cm, have been tagged with a combination of VEMCO V16 and V16P acoustic transmitters.

Stephen Fernandes
Stephen is a graduate student in the Masters Degree program of Ecology and Environmental Science at the University of Maine. His research involves investigating the abundance, distribution, and movements of Atlantic andshortnose sturgeons in the Penobscot River and Bay, Maine. Individuals were tagged with VEMCO ultrasonic transmitters to allow Stephen and his team to track their movements. This was done via active tracking using a VEMCO VR100 and a large array of VEMCO VR2 acoustic receivers. The results will not only provide management agencies with a better idea of the status and ecology of Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon in a portion of their range that is under-studied, but also highlight critical habitat and associated risks to sturgeon in this system.

Nicholas Payne
Nicholas is pursuing his PhD in Science at the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide, Australia. His study will provide insight into spatial and temporal components of movement and migration of Australian giant cuttlefish populations in northern Spencer Gulf. Nicholas and his team will utilise a boat-mounted VEMCO VR100 acoustic receiver to track mature cuttlefish within the spawning aggregation during their breeding period. Approximately 12 individuals will be fitted with VEMCO V13P continuous transmitters, which will provide position and depth data in real time for an approximate 30-day period.